Bombay HC to Hear Pleas Quashing FIR in Nitin Desai Suicide Case

MUMBAI: In a recent development, the Bombay High Court has scheduled a hearing for the petitions filed by Edelweiss Financial Services Chairman Rashesh Shah and Edelweiss ARC MD and CEO Raj Kumar Bansal. The petitions seek the quashing of the First Information Report (FIR) registered against them for allegedly abetting the suicide of well-known film art director Nitin Desai. The court is set to address their pleas on August 11, along with those of other individuals named in the case.

Shah, Bansal, as well as company official Smit Shah, Keur Mehta, and Jitender Kothari, have all approached the High Court seeking the removal of the FIR. They have also requested interim protection against any coercive measures. The hearing was expedited, with senior counsel Amit Desai, representing the accused parties, requesting an urgent hearing from a division bench led by Justice N W Sambre.

Senior counsel Aabad Ponda, advocating for Kothari, asserted that Kothari had no involvement in the alleged incident and was unable to perform his duties. The court agreed to hear the pleas on August 11.

The case stems from the suicide of Nitin Desai, who was found hanging at his Karjat studio in Maharashtra's Raigad district on August 2. Following his death, his wife lodged a complaint with the Khalapur police, resulting in an abetment to suicide case being registered against Rashesh Shah, Raj Kumar Bansal, Jitender Kothari, and others under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Desai's company, ND's Art World Pvt Ltd, had defaulted on a substantial loan repayment, prompting the initiation of insolvency proceedings by the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal. Edelweiss ARC denied exerting undue pressure on Desai for loan recovery.

Investigations into Desai's death led the Raigad police to discover 11 audio clips in a voice recorder at his office. In one of these recordings, Desai criticized a financial services firm, which his company owed money to, for exacerbating the financial crisis. He expressed his inability to overcome the situation and his exhaustion from the ordeal.

Shah and Bansal defended their actions in their petitions, stating that they had followed proper procedures for loan recovery. As the case continues to unfold, the High Court's hearing on August 11 will be a crucial step in determining the course of this complex legal matter.

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